Farmers Irked by New Rules Restricting Drivers of Trucks

AP

Published: March 7, 1988

WASHINGTON, March 6—
A farmer in Alexandria, Mo., would not be able to send his teen-age son to pick up a load of fertilizer a mile away in Keokuk, Iowa. A woman in Kalvesta, Kan., would need a commercial driver's license to ferry fuel across a state highway to her husband's tractor.

They are among the farm families who will be affected by regulations taking effect this summer under the Commercial Vehicle Safety Act, according to Stanley Hamilton of the Federal Highway Administration. A number of non-farm drivers will also be affected.

Beginning July 15, the agency will require that anyone who drives a truck weighing at least 26,000 pounds, or any vehicle regardless of weight that is carrying fuel, fertilizer or pesticide, have a commercial license.

The rules drew little comment at four public hearings in January and February, but Mr. Hamilton said the Federal agency has since ''been inundated with mail'' from farm communities. Mom, Grandpa and the Daughters

''It's a pretty big blow out here on the family farm,'' said James Wick, who grows corn and soybeans near Arrowsmith in McLean County, Ill.

''We use mom and dad, grandpa and the daughters and sons to drive these vehicles,'' he said in a telephone interview. ''To make them have a commercial license to do this is almost too much to bear.''

Although the law takes effect this year, Mr. Hamilton said it would be phased in so that a current license would not have to be replaced until its expiration date or April 1992, whichever comes first.

Mr. Hamilton said that under the act, which Congress passed in 1986, states may develop their own requirements, provided they meet minimum Federal standards, and may issue licenses to 16-year-olds.

However, Mr. Hamilton said every applicant must pass a written examination and a road test in the same class of vehicle they will be using, and a driver must be 21 years old to use the vehicle in more than one state.